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Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies might just be the best you have ever had! I can’t keep these in my house for more than a day without them completely disappearing. These homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies are thick, chewy, perfect crisp on the edges and super soft and tender on the inside. They are packed with rich peanut butter and velvety chocolate chips in just the right ratio to make your taste buds go wild!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies From Scratch

Not just any peanut butter chocolate chip cookie will do around here. We are, might I say, cookie connoisseurs and won’t just eat any old cookie around here. It all started with these Chocolate Chip Cookies and spiraled from there! These Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies are based on the recipe for my Peanut Butter Cookies that get RAVE reviews from everyone that tries them (just read the comments!)

This Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe has the things I consider non-negotiable in a cookie:

It is CHEWY

It is THICK

It is CRISP on the outside but SOFT & TENDER on the inside!

Read on for all my tips and tricks for getting the best Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies every time!

How Do You Make Cookies Soft and Chewy?

Baking is something that most of us grow up doing, but really it is an intricate science going on in there! The combination and types of sugar, fats, and flour that you use along with the time and temperature they are baked at all make an impact on how soft and chewy a cookie will turn out.

In our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies we use a high ratio of brown sugar to white which helps to make it more chewy. The combination of using a higher flour content along with butter, shortening and peanut butter gives the cookies fats that melt at different temperatures which helps it to hold it’s shape to keep it thick and soft, rather than spreading out into a thin and crispy cookie.

One of the most important components though, is cooking it for the right amount of time! The cookie should be almost under cooked in the center when it is removed since it will continue to bake as it cools. When it it over cooked, the end result is a dry and crumbly cookie. When the cookie is cooked properly, it might seem like it isn’t all the way done when you take it out, but as it cools, it finishes baking and is pure, soft and chewy perfection.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients

Flour

Salt

Baking soda

Butter, softened

Shortening

Jif creamy peanut butter

Brown sugar

White sugar

Eggs

Vanilla

Semi sweet chocolate chips

These cookies use a balance of sugars, flour, and fats to create the soft and chewy texture of the cookie along with keeping it thick and tender on the inside while having perfectly crisp edges on the outside.

Can I use all butter instead of shortening?

I frequently get asked if you can use all butter in these cookies instead of shortening. The short answer is yes, and they are still pretty tasty. The longer answer is that the shortening helps to keep the cookies thicker so you may have cookies that are more thin and less chewy when you use all butter.

Do I have to use JIF peanut butter?

JIF is my preference. You do not have to use JIF, but I recommend it because it gives a consistently delicious result. I do think these cookies work significantly better with “regular” peanut butter, rather than natural varieties. Natural peanut butters generally separate as they sit, so the oil content can be different each time you use it which can cause variation in your cookies.

Can I add more chocolate?

Absolutely! I put the amount we think is the perfect ratio, but if you really want to load it up, then go for it! I also especially love these cookies with darker chocolate chips.

How do you keep cookies chewy overnight?

Cookies are irresistible coming out of the oven, but sometimes can just be disappointing the next day. There are a few tricks to keep your peanut butter chocolate chip cookies just as chewy and soft as when they come out of the oven, the next day, week or even month!

Here are the best tips for keeping your cookies soft and chewy!

Don’t over-bake the cookies– As we discussed above, they should almost be slightly under done when you take them out of the oven. If they are over-baked they will continue to dry out and harden as they sit.

Store in the freezer– Cookies freeze wonderfully both before and after cooking. I generally bake all of my cookies, let them cool, then store them in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to a month. When you are ready to eat it, either microwave it for 30 seconds or just let it sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes and it will be just as soft and chewy as it was right after baking.

Store with a slice of bread– Storing cookies in an air tight container with a slice of bread will keep them from drying out so they stay chewy. To do this, place the cookies in a container and add a slice of bread. Try not to let the bread directly touch the cookies or it can make them soggy. I like to lay mine on top of the cookies on a piece of parchment paper.

Bake on demand! You can freeze the cookie dough after shaping into discs but before baking to have fresh cookies ready to go in a moments notice. You can place the cookie dough straight from the freezer onto the cookie sheet and bake as directed adding an additional 1-2 minutes to the cook time.

I really hope that you get a chance to try these Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and love them as much as our family does! If you need some more soft, delicious, chewy cookies in your life, check out all of our Soft & Chewy Cookie Recipes here!

If you do get a chance to try it, I would love it if you let me know! You can leave me a comment below, or if you post a picture on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so that I can see what you are cooking up! It makes my day to see others enjoying the recipes that I share!

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Ingredients

Instructions

Start by combining your dry ingredients, the flour, salt, and baking soda, in a medium bowl and mix to combine.

Next, combine the butter shortening and peanut butter in your mixer or a large mixing bowl. Make sure to use traditional peanut butter, not the natural variety.

Mix the sugars in with the peanut butter mixture until it is light and fluffy. Then stir in the eggs and vanilla until everything is combined.

Take the dry ingredients and mix it into the peanut butter mixture in thirds. I use my kitchen aid for this, but if you don't have one then you can do it by hand. The dough will be stiff but not crumbly and should be easy to form into cookies.

Use a tablespoon to scoop about 2 tbsps of the dough out then roll it into a ball and flatten very slightly to make a disc. Or, make these large by measuring it out with a 1/4 cup measure then rolling and flattening.

Bake at 350˚F for 8-10 minutes or until the center of the cookies are just set. Remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes then move them over to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!